A huge concern that many folks deal with revolves around the accurate dispensing of medication. Many folks forget if and when they have taken their medication. Pillo is a “personal home health robot” that dispenses pills safely, effectively, and accurately. The robot was created by New York’s Pillo Health. Here’s our review of Pillo.
What is Pillo?
Pillo is a personal home health robot that promises to be “the smartest and friendliest way to manage yours and your family’s health.”
The robot was created by Pillo Health, a New York-based company (with a lab in Italy) that recently launched its campaign on Indiegogo. At the time of writing, that campaign has officially been successful, raising over 100% of its $75,000 goal.
The robot essentially acts as a smart pill dispenser. The dispenser comes with modern features like machine learning along with two eyes that use facial recognition to identify the individual. So when you walk up to Pillo for your daily pills, you will be instantly recognized. If you forgot to take your pills that day, then Pillo will also give you a reminder before you walk away.
Pillo, like other smart technologies, will also be able to answer questions about your health, sync data with your phone or smartwatch, and even connect you via video to health professionals.
The robot itself sits on your table all day. It’s a stylish, modern-looking device with a digital screen. A pill dispenser sits at the bottom of the device.
Pillo Health plans to ship its first units in June 2017. Some are claiming the robot is too good to be true. You can get Pillo for just $270. As a report from The Verge explains, that price point seems a little too good to be true. The Verge issued caution over the $75,000 funding target, which seems too small to create a device as advanced as Pillo. They also thought it was weird that no VC firm threw money at Pillo Health, considering the potential market for such devices (as we’ve seen with the Amazon Echo).
Nevertheless, Pillo Health has one year to figure out how to make the device at its price range. When it’s launched, it plans to retail for $599 USD.1
Pillo Features
Pillo Health has announced all of the following features on its smart pill dispensing robot:
-Face and Voice Recognition: The robot will recognize each user’s face and voice to identify the correct pills they need. There are two “eyes” on the front of the device that look at you to determine what type of pills you need.
-Pill Dispensing: Pillo will dispense pills at the appropriate time of day.
-Tamper-Proof Casing: Pillo Health claims that all pills are stored in tamper-proof casing. The case can hold up to 250 pills at a time.
-Unlimited Profiles: You can add an unlimited number of users to Pillo
-HD Camera: HD camera recognizes your face and can be used to communicate “face to face” (virtually) with health care professionals.
-Lithium Ion Backup Battery: This battery ensures the device can continue to work in the event of a power outage.
-Wi-Fi Support: Pillo requires Wi-Fi in order to work.
-Automatic Re-ordering: Pillo will automatically reorder your medicine before it runs out.
-Wireless Syncing: Syncs with your phone and wearable devices wirelessly to gather all your health data in one place.
-Companion App: Pillo has a companion app for both iOS and Apple devices.
-Videoconferencing: Instantly connect with health care professionals to answer any health and wellness questions.
-Health and Wellness Questions: You don’t need to video-conference with a doctor to get health and wellness questions from Pillo. The robot will be able to answer certain questions for you on its own.
-7” Touchscreen Monitor: The entire front of the device is a monitor. That monitor typically displays two (sort of creepy) eyes that watch you and make sure you’re taking the correct medication. However, it can also turn into a full-screen display to communicate with health professionals or to display answers to questions.
These are the initial features planned for Pillo at launch. The company plans to add new features in the future, including a calories in and out manager, a nutrition dashboard, a baby monitor, stress management tools, mobility and fall detection, and digital health reports. Pillo Health wants Pillo to be a complete health platform.
At launch, Pillo will only speak and understand English, although more languages may be added in the future.
How Much Does Pillo Cost
Pillo is available to order online through Indiegogo, where the lowest price was initially $270. The $299 price tag is the next one available, although there are only 4 spots remaining at the time of writing. After that sells out, you’ll need to pay $349 or $399 for the next two levels up.
You can also buy two Pillo devices for $650 or buy a customized Pillo for $1000 (choose your own colors and textures). There’s also a developer edition available for $499. If you want to get a tour of Pillo laboratories, then you can pay $2500 USD to have your own custom Pillo robot, Pillo Health tour, and lunch at the lab. Pillo Health claims its lab is located in Italy. Flights, accommodation, and ground transportation are not included in this package.
The final retail price for Pillo will reportedly be $599. It’s scheduled to launch to backers in June or July 2017.
Ultimately, there are some doubts over whether or not Pillo can get the job done at this price range. However, there’s certainly a market for smart robot-liked devices in the home. We’ll keep you updated if and when Pillo is released.
